Process for producing decorative simulated inlay

ABSTRACT

A SIMULATED INLAY IS PRODUCED ON AN EXPOSED SURFACE OF A FINISHED RECEIVING MATERIAL SUCH AS WOOD, BY A METHOD IN WHICH AN EXPOSED SURFACE OF THE MATERIAL IS SCORED TO FORM GROOVES THEREIN OUTLINING THE CONFIGURATION OF THE SIMULATED INLAY, A FIRST CHARACTERISTIC APPEARANCE IS IMPARTED TO CERTAIN AREAS BY PRINTING ON ONLY CERTAIN PEREDETERMINED AREAS OF THE EXPOSED SURFACE, AND THE ENTIRE SURFACE IS THEREAFTER SUBJECTED TO A FINISHING OPERATION WHICH IMPARTS TO OTHER AREAS THEREOF A CHARACTERISTIC APPEARANCE CONTRASTING WITH THE APPEARANCE OF THE PRINTED AREAS. AN ARTICLE TO BE DECORATED BY SUCH SIMULATED INLAY IS PRODUCED BY PREPARING A PANEL WITH CERTAIN AREAS PRINTED IN SUCH A MANNER WITH RESPECT TO GROOVES OUTLINING SIMULATED INLAY, INCORPORATING THE PANEL INTO AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, AND THEREAFTER FINISHING THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF THE PANEL WITH THE ARTICLE.

D. S. RAMEY June 27, 1972 PROCESS FOR PRODUCING DECORATIVE SIMULATED INLAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 50, 1970 'FsmsHmci PANEL.

Pm NT NG SELECTED AREAS 5COR\ NG PANEL INVENTOR:

DAVH) S. RAMEY D. s. RAMEY 3,672,926

June 27, 1972 PROCESS FOR PRODUCING DECORATIVE SIMULATED INLAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 30, 1970 INVENTOR.

United States Patent US. Cl. 1178 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A simulated inlay is produced on an exposed surface of a finished receiving material such as wood, by a method in which an exposed surface of the material is scored to form grooves therein outlining the configuration of the simulated inlay, a first characteristic appearance is imparted to certain areas by printing on only certain predetermined areas of the exposed surface, and the entire surface is thereafter subjected to a finishing operation which imparts to other areas thereof a characteristic appearance contrasting with the appearance of the printed areas. An article to be decorated by such simulated inlay is produced by preparing a panel with certain areas printed in such a manner with respect to grooves outlining a simulated inlay, incorporating the panel into an article of furniture, and thereafter finishing the entire surface of the panel with the article.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 677,311 entitled Panel With Decorative Simulated Inlay and Process, filed Oct. 23, 1967 now Pat. No. 3,537,874.

Inlay has long been used to achieve decorative effects for furniture, panels or various other objects. The most widely known and more easily accomplished application of inlay is with woods of various characteristics, but this art or craft is applicable to other finish receiving materials. Any inlay, regardless of the materials involved, obtains its characteristic appearance by an incision into the surface of one body of material and the careful fitting into the incision, or inlaying, of a body of material having an appearance which contrasts with that of the background material. The careful cutting and fitting necessary to obtain a substantially continuous and smooth surface have resulted in the art or craft of inlay being largely a manual operation directly reflecting the skill and core of the artisan or craftsman.

The decorative effect of inlay is desired and sought after by the furniture industry, for use in all lines of furniture including those intended to be sold in middle or lower price ranges, but the expense involved and the difficulty of accommodating a craft operation to production line procedures are such that true inlay decoration is no longer commonly seen on modestly priced articles. Simulate inlays, produced in accordance with the method described in the aforementioned copending parent application, are particularly adapted for production line manufacturing such as is now used in producing moderately priced articles and result in decoration closely approaching the appearance of a true handcrafted inlay. While such method of producing a panel having decorative simulated inlay provides good results, the amount of individual effort and attention required on the part of a production line operative is still greater than might be desirable for certain manufacturers.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a simulation of an inlay in which the individual attention or effort re- 'ice quired of a production line operative is minimized. By following of a process as contemplated by the present invention, articles of furniture or groupings intended for lower price markets may be provided with decoration closely approaching the appearance of a true handcrafted inlay, while being accommodated to production line finishing in a particularly efficient and advantageous manner.

Some of the objects and advantages of the invention having been stated, others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps of a method in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing scoring of the surface of a panel of finish receiving material such as wood in accordance with one step of a method of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating printing on certain predetermined areas of the surface of the finish receiving material in accordance with another step of the method of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the subjection of the entire surface of a panel of FIG. 3 to a finishing operation in accordance with a final step in a method of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an article of furniture incorporating the panel of FIG. 3 and illustrating the simultaneous finishing of the article and panel;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing a panel similar to that of FIG. 3 and bearing a distinctive wood grain in certain predetermined areas, the panel being at an intermediate point in processing in accordance with a method of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, showing the panel of FIG. 6 after subjection thereof to a further finishing of predetermined areas of the surface thereof; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of the surface of the panel of FIG. 7, taken generally as indicated by the reference character 8 in FIG. 7.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the present invention will first be described with general reference to FIGS. 1-5 and modifications of the subject method and resulting products will thereafter be pointed out. As briefly set forth in FIG. 1, the steps of the present method comprise scoring the surface of a material exhibiting a natural wood grain effect, such as wood, then subjecting certain predetermined areas of the surface to a finishing operation, and thereafter subjecting the entire area of the surface to a further finishing operation. By such a sequence of steps, the certain predetermined areas of the surface have a resultant characteristic appearance imparted thereto by subjection thereof to both finishing operations which contrasts with and is distinct from the characteristic appearance of those portions of the surface which are only subjected to the further finishing operations.

In accordance with the present invention, the scoring of the surface of the material is along predetermined lines outlining the configuration of a simulated inlay. Such scoring is preferably accomplished by passing into engagement with the surface a steel rule die configured to outline the simulated inlay. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the passage of a steel rule die into engagement with the surface desirably comprises rolling along the exposed surface S of a material M a cylindrical body 10 having radially and circumferentially projecting rule die elements 11. The rule die elements are arranged to define a predetermined inlay configuration to be outlined by grooves in the exposed surface S. While a use of a cylindrical body 10 is preferred, as most readily accomplishing the passage of the steel rule die into engagement with the surface S,

it is recognized that rule die elements such as the elements 11 on the body 10 may be provided on a platen or fiat bed press member and passed into engagement with a material by operation of a platen press.

Subsequent to scoring of the exposed surface of the material M, certain predetermined areas of the surface S contiguous to and at least partially bounded by the predetermined lines of deformation or grooves 12 formed therein are subjected to a finishing operation imparting a first characteristic appearance thereto. In accordance with the present invention, the subjection of the certain predetermined areas to a finishing operation is accomplished by printing. Most commonly, such printing is of a finishing substance which is a colorant, such as a stain which imparts to certain areas of the surface a characteristic darkened appearance. As shown in FIG. 3, such printing is desirably accomplished through a process similar to silk screen printing as known and used in other printing applications, wherein a frame 14 carrying a screen 15 having a predetermined design of openings 17 therein is placed in juxtaposed, correlated position with the exposed surface of the material M and a colorant or stain material 18 is passed through the openings of the screen 15 only onto certain predetermined areas of the exposed surface S. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the openings of the screen 15 desirably register with certain predetermined areas 16 within the confines of the grooves or lines of deformation 12 in the exposed surface S which define the inlay configuration on the material M. A body of stain material 18 is passed through the openings 17 of the screen 15 by a squeegee 19 of the like.

Thereafter, the entire surface including both the certain predetermined areas and other areas of the surface S of the material M are subjected to a finishing operation which imparts to unprinted areas a characteristic appearance contrasting with the resultant characteristic appearance imparted to the printed certain areas 16 by subjection thereof to both finishing operations. In accordance with certain procedures of the present invention, such subjection of the surface S to a finishing operation comprises staining the entire surface by applying stain thereto in a manner generally similar to conventional production line finishing operations. Such conventional production line finishing operations involve the spraying of finishing substances such as stains, sealers, glazes or the like through a spray gun 20 or the like (FIG. 4) as an independent panel P severed from the material M passes adjacent a finishing location.

It is contemplated by the present invention that the finishing operation may take place after the printed panel has been incorporated into an article of furniture 21 (FIG. It is to be noted that in such a procedure the printed panel P provided for assembly into the article of furniture requires no attention from the operator handling a finish applying spray gun 20', but may be treated by such an operator as though the panel P were any other surface or article to be finished. Such minimization of individual attention particularly facilitates use of the method of the present invention with the manufacture of lower cost lines of furniture. In adapting the method of this invention to this goal, the printing of certain areas of the panel is followed by incorporating the printing panel into an article of furniture, with the article thereafter being subjected to a finishing operation. The accomplishment of the desired effect in such circumstance is facilitated by the printing of a dark stain which imparts a characteristic darkened appearance and by subsequent application of a finishing schedule which includes a lighter colorant.

In certain applications of handcrafted inlay, the desirable effects are achieved by directing the grain of an inlaid wood material in a direction different from the grain of the surrounding or base wood material or by inlaying metallic materials into a base wood material. It is contemplated that the method of the present invention be open to realization of such characteristic efiects by print- 4 ing of wood grain effects or of metallic stains and finishes. In particular, as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, the printing of colorants onto certain predetermined areas 16' of the surface S' of a panel P is accomplished in such a manner as to apply stain in a straight line or grain-like appearance. Such a graining effect is accomplished by special preparation of the open areas of the screen 15 through which such stain is pressed onto the surface S and de- I sirably makes use of a pattern and stain which substantially obliterate the underlying natural wood grain eflect of the panel. Characteristically, the direction of the printed wood grain effect extends at an angle, such as generally perpendicular, to the natural wood grain effect of the panel P to enhance the contrast therewith. Subsequently, the panel P is subjected to final finishing procedures generally as discussed above with the resulting final product giving an appearance of contrasting grain directions. That is, the areas in which no printed wood grain effect was applied exhibit the natural wood grain effect occurring on the surface S'. In the certain predetermined, printed areas to which a first stain is initially applied, the printing thereon results in the wood grain effect exhibited being any desired contrasting appearance, such as a grain appearing to run at right angles or representative of a distinct wood species.

Further, the present invention contemplates that special effects such as a checkerboard of contrasting directions of printing exhibiting wood grain effects or contrasting metallic sheen may be accomplished by preceding any final finishing operation with a step of printing onto second predetermined areas of the surface S a stain or other finishing material imparting thereto a characteristic appearance contrasting with the characteristic appearance of the certain predetermined areas. The panel P of FIGS. 7 and 8 is shown to have such second predetermined areas 22, having printing thereon exhibiting a wood grain effect extending generally in the direction of the natural wood grain effect and at an angle to the printed wood grain eflect in the certain predetermined areas 16'. Alternatively, such a contrast may be accomplished by printing of a metallic stain or finish.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a simulation of an inlay on an exposed surface of a deformable material, comprising the steps of scoring the exposed surface of the material to form grooves therein outlining a predetermined inlay configuration by moving a correspondingly configured steel rule die into engagement with the exposed surface of the material,

printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored material in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration thereon to impart to such areas a first characteristic appearance by placing a screen having a predetermined design of openings therein, in juxtaposed correlated position to the exposed surface of the material and the inlay configuration thereon, and passing a colorant through the openings of the screen and onto the exposed surface of the material, and

subjecting the entire surface of the material to a finishing operation imparting to unprinted areas thereof a characteristic appearance contrasting with the appearance of the printed areas.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the material comprises printing a colorant in registration within the confines of areas defined by the inlay configuration.

3. A method according to claim 1 comprising printing only certain other areas of the remainder of the exposed surface of the material in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration thereon to impart to such other areas a second characteristic appearance contrasting with the first characteristic appearance and with the characteristic appearance of the unprinted areas.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored panel comprises applying a metallic finish thereto. 5. A method of producing a simulation of an inlay on an exposed surface of a panel exhibiting a natural wood grain effect comprising the steps of scoring the exposed surface of the panel to form grooves therein outlining a predetermined inlay configuration by moving a correspondingly configured steel rule die into engagement with the exposed surface of the material, printing a wood grain effect on only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored panel in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration thereon to substantially obliterate the underlying natural wood grain effect of the panel and to impart to such areas a first characteristic appearance by placing a screen having a predetermined design of openings therein, in juxtaposed correlated position to the exposed surface of the material and the inlay configuration thereon, and passing a colorant through the openings of the screen and onto the exposed surface of the material, printing a wood grain effect on only certain other areas of the remainder of the exposed surface of the panel in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration thereon to impart to such other areas a second characteristic appearance, and

subjecting the entire surface of the panel to a finishing operation so that the unprinted areas thereof exhibit the natural wood grain effect of the panel to provide a contrast with the printed areas.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the printing of the wood grain effect of one of the printed areas comprises printing the wood grain effect to extend in a different direction than the natural wood grain effect of the panel and in a diiferent direction than the other printed wood grain effect.

7. A method of producing a simulation of an inlay on a surface of a panel assembled in an article of furniture comprising the steps of providing a panel of deformable material unassembled into the article of furniture,

scoring the exposed surface of the panel to form grooves therein outlining a predetermined inlay configuration by moving a correspondingly configured steel rule die into engagement with the exposed surface of the material,

printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored panel in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration to impart to such areas a first characteristic appearance by placing a screen having a predetermined design of openings therein, in juxtaposed correlated position to the exposed surface of the material and the inlay configuration thereon, and passing a colorant through the openings of the screen and onto the exposed surface of the material,

assembling the printed panel into an article of furniture,

and

subjecting the article of furniture to a finishing operation imparting to unprinted areas of the panel a characteristic appearance contrasting with the appearance of the printed areas thereof by spraying finishing materials thereon.

8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the step of printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored panel to impart to such areas a first characteristic appearance comprises printing a dark colorant thereon and wherein the step of subjecting the article of furniture to a finishing operation comprises spraying a light colorant thereon.

9. A method of producing a simulation of an inlay on an exposed surface of a deformable material, comprising the steps of scoring the exposed surface of the material to form grooves therein outlining a predetermined inlay configuration by moving a correspondingly configured steel rule die into engagement with the exposed surface of the material,

printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored material in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration thereon to impart to such areas a predetermined characteristic appearance by placing a screen having a predetermined design of openings therein, in juxtaposed correlated position to the exposed surface of the material and the inlay configuration thereon, and passing a colorant through the openings of the screen and onto the exposed surface of the material, and

so that the entire surface of the material may thereafter be subjected to a finishing operation imparting to unprinted areas thereof a characteristic appearance contrasting with the appearance of the printed areas.

10. A method of producing a simulation of an inlay on an exposed surface of a deformable material, comprising the steps of scoring the exposed surface of the material to form grooves therein outlining a predetermined inlay configuration by moving a correspondingly configured steel rule die into engagement with the exposed surface of the material,

printing only certain areas of the exposed surface of the scored material in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration thereon to impart .to such areas a first characteristic appearance by placing a screen having a predetermined design of openings therein, in juxtaposed correlated position to the exposed surface of the material and the inlay configuration thereon, and passing a colorant through the openings of the screen and onto the exposed surface of the material,

printing only certain other areas of the remainder of the exposed surface of the material in predetermined position with respect to the inlay configuration to impart to such other areas a second characteristic appearance, and

so that the entire surface of the material may thereafter be subjected to a finishing operation imparting to unprinted areas thereof a characteristic appearance contrasting with the appearance of the printed areas.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,692,450 10/ 1954 Reinemer 117-45 2,065,322 12/ 1936 Robertson 117-38 X 2,137,765 11/1938 Weiss 117-38 3,479,197 11/1969 Mork 117----45 X 3,212,542 10/ 1965 Miller et al 144'328 X 2,703,463 3/ 1955 McElroy 144-328 625,979 5/1899 Lynn 1l745 X 659,787 10/ 1900 Burriss 1178 1,225,504 5/1917 Schramm 117--5.5 1,703,746 2/ 19-29 ONeill 117---8 3,393,294 7/ 1968 Cramer 144-328 X ALFRED L. LEAVITT, Primary Examiner T. E. BOKAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

